All rejoice for there is a new post!

The other morning I woke up with a craving for berry cobbler. After living in the LA area for over a year, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is a donut town. Every shopping plaza or street corner has a mom-and-pop shop announcing that their’s is the best donuts and coffee in town. If I were in the mood for a donut this would be delightful dilemma. Well, dear Reader, I was not. Sadly, as of this posting, I have not found an acceptable cobbler or pie shop in town. (If you have any suggestions please leave them in the comments below. Thanks!)

The only option left was to make berry cobbler. But that seemed like a big commitment to eat an entire cobbler all on my lonesome. So let’s turn this into a cookie instead! Pre-made portions and I can ‘share’ it more easily with other folks.

Notes:  I used a short-bread cookie recipe as the base. I was a few tablespoons shy of the required amount of flour needed. I know, I shouldn’t be admitting any of this, but I found it to be a learning moment. As a result of the less than ideal amount of flour, my cookies didn’t have enough structure and they spread while baking. Not by much, but it was noticeable when compared to the pre-baked size.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups plus 3 tbsp A.P. Flour
• 1 cup plus 1 tbsp granulated Sugar, divided
• 2 tbsp Brown Sugar, firmly packed
• 3 tbsp Old-Fashioned Oats
• 1 cup Salted Butter, softened
• 1 1/2 tbsp Salted Butter, melted
• 1 large Egg
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
• 2 tbsp Fruit Jam — I used raspberry preserve
• 1 tbsp Cornstarch
• 3/4 cup diced fresh Berries — I used blackberries

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie with parchment paper or silpat.

You’re going to need 4 bowls for this one: 1 large, 1 medium, and 2 small.

In the small bowl stir fresh Berries, Cornstarch, 1 tbsp granulated Sugar, and Jam. Set aside.

In the second small bowl you’ll make the crumble topping: mix 3 tbsp Flour, Oats, Brown Sugar, and melted Butter. Use a fork to stir it up until it’s good and crumbly, then set aside.

In the large mixing bowl, beat with an electric mixer on medium-low, the softened Butter with 1 cup of granulated Sugar until creamy. Remember to stop and scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. This should take a couple minutes. Then beat in the Egg, and once that is incorporated, add the Vanilla Extract.

In the medium bowl, whisk 2.5 cups Flour with the Baking Soda. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture. Don’t over beat. Mix until all ingredients are combined.

Scoop 1.5-2 tbsp of dough and roll into a ball. Try not to work the dough too much. Quickly shape it into a ball in your hands and place it on the lined pan. I used the back of my tablespoon to press into the dough balls in order to make a well for the jam mixture. Be sure to use something circular for a nice shaped well. Remember to press the spoon down half of the way, not all the way through the dough! Use about a teaspoon of jam mixture to fill each well. Then sprinkle the crumble on top.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the cookie edges start to brown. Allow to cool on the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Enjoy!